It is well known in the prior art that raw or exposed edges of carton board and like materials are often sharp and may cause injury unless extreme care is observed in handling the exposed edges. The most common way of protecting the user against injury on the exposed edges of prior art carton lids has been to provide a carton lid employing a turned-under lip along those portions of its periphery with which the user may come in contact. Prior art shoe boxes typically employ such a construction.
A difficulty common to such prior art cartons, however, is that the lids are not positively secured to the body of the carton. Thus, the cartons may be easily opened and their contents pilfered without visible detection. In the case of two-piece cartons, the carton lids may even become separated and lost from the carton body. To overcome these difficulties, overwrap materials of plastic, ribbon, string and the like have typically been employed. Such materials are not only expensive, but in addition must be disposed of when the carton is finally opened by the consumer.
Other prior art techniques which have been employed to avoid the difficulties mentioned above have included the use of removable zippers and tear-out panels in the carton lid. Such techniques have not proven completely satisfactory, however, since their functionality is normally adversely affected by minor carton damage, the force required to open the carton is normally quite high and often highly inconsistent, and the tear-out or zipper portion must be disposed of once the carton has been opened. In addition, removal of the tear-out or zipper portion on a carton intended to be displayed or reused after opening typically destroys the graphics or decorations applied to the carton in the area of the zipper or tear-out panel. Finally, such prior art techniques typically necessitate the use of additional carton board or similar material beyond that normally required to form the carton lid in order to provide a securement feature.